The present invention relates to apparatus for stripping the end of an electrical conductor before crimping a terminal thereon. The invention also relates to apparatus for both stripping the end off an electrical conductor and for crimping a terminal thereon.
When attaching terminals to electrical conductors, the insulation is first stripped off the end of the electrical conductor, and the terminal is attached to the stripped end by a crimping device. Machines are known for performing both the stripping and the crimping operations. Such machines comprise a pair of clamping jaws for clamping the electrical conductor, a pair of cutting blades for cutting the insulation while the conductor is clamped, displacing means for effecting relative movement between the clamping jaws and cutting blades in order to strip the cut insulation from the end of the conductor, and a crimping device for crimping the terminal on the stripped end of the conductor. In the presently available machines, the cutting blades are generally moved in a linear direction parallel to the axis of the conductor clamped between the clamping jaws in order to strip the cut insulation from the end of the conductor. I have found such an arrangement not to be entirely satisfactory because the cutting blades, when moved in such linear direction away from the clamping jaws, tends to interfere with the crimping device when that device is operated. Moreover, these known arrangements limit the space available in the machine for other devices, such as for straightening the terminal, which devices are sometimes necessary or desirable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a stripping apparatus having advantages in the above respects.